I'll Walk Beside You
by Aeterna
Summary: It didn't seem possible, but it was true. He'd seen her limp and lifeless body, lying peacefully in the casket, dressed in her favorite dark green dress robes. Her gray hair, which still shone with hints of vibrant red, was tied up in a sensible knot as a


~I'll Walk Beside You~  
  
A/N: "I'll Walk Beside You" is a traditional Irish folksong that I fell in love with when I sang it with choir. You'll see why. Maybe one of these days I'll write something other than fluffy H/G songfics (or update Hello, Ginny!, one of the two), but for right now, you're stuck with this ;)  
  
  
It was a long and cold walk home, especially in his old age, but he was to distracted to apparate.  
  
Dead ... his wife of fifty-four years ... dead. It almost didn't seem possible to him. He sighed. It didn't seem possible, but it was true. He'd seen her limp and lifeless body, lying peacefully in the casket, dressed in her favorite dark green dress robes. Her gray hair, which still shone with hints of vibrant red, was tied up in a sensible knot as always ... but her eyes were shut forever. He would never look into their twinkling dark-mahogany depths again.  
  
He was relieved when he finally reached his house. He opened the door and let the warm air envelop him, but his soul remained cold. He sat down on the couch that he had so often shared with her and did what any other grieving widower would do; he remembered his life with her.  
  
  
I'll walk beside you through the world today ...  
  
  
His mind first wandered past a happy memory from his youth ... back at Hogwarts. He remembered long walks with her out on the Hogwarts grounds, and one walk in particular.  
  
  
While dreams and songs and flowers bless your way ...  
  
  
It was a gorgeous afternoon in late April of his sixth year, and they had taken a break from revising for exams to enjoy the sunshine. Her hand fitted comfortably into his, they walked the grounds and chatted on random subjects. They stopped when they came to a small rosebush laden with deep burgandy blossoms on the side of the path.  
  
On a sudden whim of romantic inspiration, he took out his wand and whispered an incantation, "floris praesentum". Immediately, one of the roses, the most vibrant of all of them, detatched itself from the bush and presented itself to her.  
  
She gasped with pleasure and accepted the blossom, smiling up at him, "Thank you, Harry. It's beautiful."  
  
He loved to study her deep brown eyes, and he took this opportunity to do so, enjoying every subtly different dark hue that danced within them.  
  
  
I'll look into your eyes and hold your hand.  
I'll walk beside you through the golden land.  
  
  
Those days had been hard for him. The fate of the entire wizarding world rested in his young hand, and he had been forced to become an adult, when, by all rights, he should still have been a child. But she could always bring his youth back to him. No matter how tired and careworn he was, all he had to do was see her smile at him, and he could feel his strength coming back to him.  
  
  
I'll walk beside you through the world tonight ...  
  
  
Her graduation party had lasted late into the night. He remembered he had to get away from it all for just one second. He loved spending time with the Weasleys, but they did have a tendency to be a little overbearing.  
  
  
Beneath the starry skies ablaze with light ...  
  
  
The starlight revealed what was unmistakeably a red head of hair pulled into an elegant twist. He knew that hair. Smiling, he strode over to the petite figure and took a seat on the ground next to her.  
  
"A knut for your thoughts," he whispered into her ear.  
  
She looked somewhat startled to see him, but happy anyway. "I was just thinking about what will happen next," she said thoughtfully, "It's really not something I've thought about very much. I've always thought of just surviving ... but now that we've survived ..."  
  
"I've been thinking about it, too," Harry said, "and I can only come up with one conclusion."  
  
"Yeah? And what's that?"  
  
"I want to spend my life with you."  
  
  
Within your soul, love's tender words I'll hide ...  
  
  
"Marry me, Ginny," he said softly.  
  
Her smile shone through tearful eyes that glistened in the starlight. "Of course I will," she said, "I love you."  
  
"I love you more," Harry said leaning in for a kiss.  
  
"That's impossible." she said just before their lips met.  
  
  
I'll walk beside you through the eventide.  
  
  
He couldn't help but smile as he remembered this, and as he remembered announcing their engagement to the family and barely being able to breathe after all of the hugs he got from the various family members. They all told him one thing.  
  
"So you've finally managed to become an official member of the family, have you?"  
  
  
I'll walk beside you through the passing years ...  
  
  
"Harold James Potter! Why did I find this in our daughter's trunk?"  
  
She held out what at first appeared to be nothing at all, except for the fact that her hand had quite literally disappeared under it.  
  
"I was ... passing down a family heirloom?"  
  
"She's eleven!"  
  
"Well, so was I."  
  
  
Through days of cloud ...  
  
  
They watched the rainstorm together in his favorite easy chair. Her arms fit snugly around his neck and his own arms encircling her waist. This particular memory was a silent one, but a powerful one nonetheless.  
  
  
... and sunshine ...  
  
  
He picked up his youngest daughter, Sophia, now three years old.  
  
"Ginny, are you ready?" he called into the kitchen, where his wife was finishing up packing their picnic lunch.  
  
"Ready!" she said perkily as they walked out into the summer sunlight.  
  
  
... joy ...  
  
  
"Well this one evens it out," Ginny said, looking adoringly at the newest addition to the family, which now had a good six children, "We now have three green-eyed children."  
  
"What do you want to name him?" he said, letting the infant grab his forefinger and shake it up and down.  
  
She looked thoughtfully at the little boy for a moment, then confidently said, "Frederick. He looks like a michievious one."  
  
  
... and tears.  
  
  
It seemed like the entire world came to mourn this loss, but the two of them along with Hermione felt this the most.  
  
Sniffling bravely, Ginny carefully laid a white rose on her brother's chest, Harry and Hermione following suit after her.  
  
"Goodbye, Ron," Harry whispered, "We'll miss you, mate."  
  
  
And when the great call comes, the sunset gleams ...  
  
  
Sighing once again, Harry lay his head down on the sofa.  
  
"I love you, Ginny," he whispered to the silent room full of memories before closing his brilliant green eyes one last time.  
  
  
I'll walk beside you to the land of dreams. 


End file.
